Deflector for endless chain propeller



Jan. 10, 1956 E. J. EYRING DEFLECTOR FOR ENDLESS CHAIN PROPELLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 10, 1949 INVENTOR EDWARD J. EYRING ATTORNEY Jan. 10, 1956 E. J. EYRING 2,730,064

DEFLECTOR FOR ENDLESS CHAIN PROPELLER Filed Nov. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4.

"n n M '10 INVENTOR EDWARD J. EYRING ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,730,064 DEFLECTOR: FOR ENDLESS CHAIN PROPELLER Edward J. Eyring, Arlington, Va.

Application November 1-0, 1949, SerialNo. 126,654

6 Claims. (Cl. 115-1) (Granted under. Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.- 266) The present inventionrelates to endless chain propellers and more particularly to fluid deflector means for amphibian craft. 7

Prior fluid impellers for. track laying amphibian vehicles have two major disadvantages. First, they attempt to adapt fixedimpellers to both fluid and land travel. This results in breakage and fouling when. light weight thin section impellers are used, and in loss of effective propulsion when impellers were made heavy enough to avoid breakage. Secondly, it has been proposed to. attach fixed paddle members to the outside rim of an amphibian traction belt. This arrangement creates so much. drag during the return travel of the belt that effective propulsion is critically diminished.

The invention of co-pending concurrently filed application of Willard C. Baker for Amphibian Propulsion Mechanism, Serial Number 126,655, now Patent No. 2,680,421, avoids these and other disadvantages by providing a series of fluid impeller blades arranged in co-operating. relationship with a uniform series of fluid deflector vanes. The present invention provides a novel construction and arrangement of those fluid deflector vanes in an amphibian craft.

One object of the present invention is to provide fluid deflector means arranged to over-reach laminar flow during travel ofan amphibian craft.

A further object is to provide deflector vanes constructedand arranged to compensate for flow obstruction caused by bogie wheels in the effective intake areas ofan endless chain propeller. Other equally important objects and many of the advantages of the present invention becomereadily apparent from the following detailed description which illustrates preferred embodiments thereof whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings that diagrammatically represent in:

Fig. 1,. a side elevational view of the novel deflector vanes embodied in an amphibian craft.

Fig. 2, a top plan view of the vanes of Figure 1.

Fig. 3, an enlarged view partly in vertical cross-section of a portion of the series of vanes of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 1 shows a preferred arrangement of the deflector vanes 40 in cooperative relationship with hull 60 and endless belt 20. Fig. 2 illustrates a preferred arrangement of the novel graduated lips 50 to 58 of vanes 40. Fig. 3 reveals a preferred relationship between the vanes 40, the blades 30 and bogie wheels 23 in the endless belt 20, and Fig. 4 illustrates a preferred cooperating arrangement of vane 40, lip 51, blade 30 with surfaces 61, 62, and 63 of hull 60.

As shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 an endless belt assembly 20 is mounted in hull 60 and arranged to be driven in a manner well known in the art by drive sprocket 21, around idler sprocket 22 and on bogie wheels 23 mounted on bogie axles 24 by attaching means 27. Belt 20 also includes impeller blade track sections 30, treads or grous- "ice ers 70, foot portions 71, track links 31 and connector links 32- all as previously described in concurrently filed co-pending application of Willard C. Baker. for Amphibian Propulsion Mechanism, Serial Number 126,655, now Patent No. 2,680,421.

The hull 60 is provided with a side skirt portion 61, an inner wall portion 62, and an under cover portion 63 under which endless belt operates. Wall portion 62 and 63 are arranged to aid in guiding the water to vanes 40when the craft is afloat. The wall portions 61 and 63 are preferably constructed to permit the free flow of water over vanes 40 and onto blades 30.

From the above description of the arrangement of elements 61, 62 and 63, and from the view of Fig. 4, it

can be readily seen that these elements cooperate toform a channel for guiding water to the deflector vanes and impeller blades. It is to be noted further that only the lower or water impelling course of the endless belt passes through this channel while the upper or return course is above cover portion 63. The return path of the endless belt assembly 20 may, when the craft is in operation, move forward immediately above cover portion 63 and may even slide thereon. In this manner the belt is subjected to a jet action of water through the channel on its lower path but not onits upper return path.

Vanes 40 are preferably attached to the hull portion 62 by means of abase or bracket portion 41 and attaching means 42,. such as bolts or other suitable means. Vanes 40 arealso provided with axle members 24 on which are mounted bogie wheels 23 by attaching means, such as thenut 27. Vanes 40, wheels 23, blades 30, and belt 2i) areall arranged in cooperating relationship as set forth in the aforesaid cop'ending application of Williard C. Baker. It is also contemplated that the vanes 40 may be used with equal advantage with the novel adjustable blade control as set forth in the copending joint application of Willard C. Baker and William Nicholas for Arnphibian Control Mechanism, Serial No. 126,656, now Patent No. 2,705,470, concurrently filed herewith.

The vanes-40 include a reinforcing web or ridge member 43 and a deflector lip portion 51 as shown in Fig. 4. The lip portion 51 is one of a series of gradually increasing lip portions 50 to 58 inclusive, as shown in Fig. 2.

. As shown in detail in Fig. 2 vanes 40 are provided with aseries of laterally extending deflector lips 50 to 58 inclusive.- These lips are preferably constructed and arranged to increasingly extend gradually and outwardly along a line 25 diverging at an angle A from the normal direction line 26 of belt 20. Angle A is prefer ably used in. a range of approximately 2 to 7 degrees, depending upon the size of the craft, and the service for which it is intended. In an average track length of ap proximately 15 feet between vanes 50 and 58 this lateral extension is within the range of 6 inches: for lip 50 to 24 inches for lip 53, or from 3 to 12 per cent of the length of like portions of other tracks. This range in inches is preferable in craft wherein the diverging line 25 is replaced by a curve to provide accelerated increase in the rearward portion of the series of lips. Accordingly, the increase in effective area of lips 50 to 58 may be provided either by the angle A or by the divergence measured at A in Fig. 2 between line 26 and any curve that may be sub stituted for the line 25. These approximate ranges relate to the effective lip area beyond outer edge 59 of each of the vanes 40. The effective minimum area for each lip is preferably at least sufficient to compensate for areas, between the vane 40 of that lip and the next forward vane, obstructed by the encroaching sectors B and C of bogie wheels 23 as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Another important purpose of this progressive increase is to provide what is known as clear water or Water free from cavitation and other adverse characteristics, caused by bogie wheels 23 and by each of the vanes forward of final vane 58. Another important purpose is to cause lips 50 to 58 inclusive to extend beyond any laminar flow existing in areas contiguous to the vanes in the leading portion of the series that start at lip 50. As is well known, laminar flow 'may be defined as that movement of fluid particles that exists in the water adjacent to the hull skin areas and results in areas or layers of Water that move along with the hull skin at various rates depending upon the distances of those layers from the hull skin. It therefore becomes advantageous to extend beyond these moving areas at all times and at all conditions of water so that the vanes, such as 50 to 58, may take effective bites of progressively increasing depth in the fluid beyond these areas of laminar flow.

In operation hull 60 is'propelled by belt 20 in a forward direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The

lower or water-impelling course of endless belt will be travelling in the opposite direction, from idler sprocket 22 toward drive sprocket 21, as is customary in the art. Water is engaged by'lips 50 and 51 in the series of vanes 40,- and directed laterally inwardly and rearwardly onto blades 30, by subsequent vanes 40 and their subsequent lips 52 to 58 inclusive. Blades 30 then engage the water and propel the craft in a manner previously described in the two copending applications previously referred to herein.

It will be seen from the foregoing, that the present invention achieves eflective utilization of the dynamic head of the water passing the craft while the craft is in forward motion, and converts that dynamic head into potential head or pressure progressively directed laterally and then downwardly upon the volume of water already encompassed by the areas adjacent to the vanes 40. This accelerates the flow of the water laterally and downwardly into vanes 40 which eflectively deflect the water into impeller blades 30.

' Related hereto are the following concurrently filed copending applications of: Willard C. Baker and William Nicholas for Amphibian Control Mechanism, Serial Number 126,656, now Patent No. 2,705,470; Emil S. Cigledy, for Deflector System, Serial Number 126,660, now abandoned; Edward I. Eyring, for Deflector Control, Serial Number 126,653; and Willard C. Baker for Amphibian Propulsion Mechanism, Serial Number 126,655, new Patent No.2,680,42l.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used 0y or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

While only preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, it is obvious that various modifications thereof are contemplated and may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims:

1. In combination in an amphibian craft; an endless traction belt having thereon a series of fluid impeller blades; said impeller blades projecting inwardly with respect to the belt; and a series of fluid deflector vanes fixed to said craft adjacent to and depending downward toward said blades; the planes of said deflector vanes extending laterally beyond the outer edge of said blades, and to a progressively greater extent in a fore to aft sequence.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the outermost edge of the deflector vanes are shaped to form a protruding lip portion, said lip portions extending laterally from truding lip portion, said lip portions successively increas ing in length when arranged'in a fore to aft sequence, said lip portions extending laterally to approximately coincide with a line diverging outwardly from the line of rearward travel of said belt to a degree within the approximate range of from 2 to 7 degrees, whereby the dynamic head of said fluid passing said craft is converted into potential head during forward travel of said craft.

5. In combination in an amphibian craft; an endless traction belt means to cause said belt to be driven along a lower fluid impelling path and thereafter along an upper return path; a series of fluid impeller blades on said belt pr'ojectinginwardly with respect to said belt; a series of fluid deflector vanes fixed to said craft adjacent said lower course; a pair of bogie wheels rotatably mounted on each of said vanes and'arranged to engage said belt on each side of said series of blades; said series of vanes having lateral lip portions arranged in a fore to aft sequence to progressively extend outwardly with respect to the line of travel of said hull beyond the outer edge of said series'of blades to an extent sufficient to compensate for those portions of said lower coursein which the etfective fluid intake area is obstructed by said bogie wheels.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said vanes extend laterally within the approximate range of from 3 to 12 per cent of the length of said lower course.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,091,958 Braga se m, 1937. 

